Happy Goat Coffee Co. (Laurel) — Restaurant in Ottawa

If there is one thing that the hipster movement usually does well its coffee. Goat is no exception. This place looks like it was created right from the hipster's handbook. In fact I think Webster's should add a picture of the Goat Coffee shop next to Hipster in the dictionary.

Everything about Goat was the epitome of anti-corporate from the out of the way old industrial park location, the miss-matching furniture, the customer dogs walking around, the coffee roasting equipment and empty burlap coffee bags lying around, the gender neutral bathrooms etc... like I said it is right out of the hipster handbook. If you are the kind of individual that likes to go out for coffee at 2pm on a Saturday in your pyjamas... this is your place.

Anyways GOAT does make a damn good cappuccino! I am not sure it is 'Greatest Of All Time' good but it is damn good. Goat obviously roasts thier own coffee beans which I am starting to see in a few stores around town. Thier beans are sold in a unique brown bag packaging and can be purchased on site. All Goat coffee I have tried has been really good.

I judge a croissant by how messy it is and the Goat croissants are pretty messy. Pastries also look like they are made on site? Goat is also set up to sell beer and they have a really good selection of local craft beers on tap.

Prices are what you would expect. Nobody is going to happen upon this place while out for a stroll. So, if you enjoy great coffee and go through the effort of seeking out this place I doubt you will be offended by $2.25 med drip coffee and $3.50 cappuccinos.

I may head back for a beer next time. They seem like they are set up with a small patio for the summer. I hope there are no hard feelings about the hipster jokes ... cause i will be back to...

First off, ottawa is very lacking in 3rd wave coffee shops. I was excited to check this place out and maybe purchase some beans to try out after reading the reviews. The decor is neat, typical industrial hipster. Most of their beans are blends, and the couple of single source beans they have are described simply as yrgacheffe, one of the most highly regarded coffees in the world. Any coffee snob buying their beans would know that already, I'd be more I interested in tasting notes etc. I tried their yrgacheffe pourover and it was poorly done. It had potential, but it was clearly done at too high a temperature, and the guy making th pour over simply dumped the entire volume into the filter and waited for it to extract, which is NOT how you make a decent pour over. End result was over extracted And over brewed. Tried their grilled cheese, which was made with slices of Kraft cheese (or it looked and tasted like it), and they didn't take the time to melt the cheese....so meh. If i wanted to have plastic cheese id have my niece make me one.Decent setting but poorly done coffee and food from my experience. It's only so highly rated because of the lack of decent coffee...

So, this is my favourite place to go for cafe studying. But I sadly don't go as often as I'd like. The other day, I went for a studying session and I forgot how great of a place it is! The tables aren't super close to each other, so it doesnt feel crowded. And the overall vibe there is nice. I had a chai latte made with soy milk, and with no exaggeration, it was literally the best chai latte I have ever had!! Even when it cooled down (because I'm a slow drinker lol), it still tasted lovely. I've never interacted with a rude barista and the place is dog friendly!!! So while studying, there would be times I would see such happy and beautiful puppers, making studying much more bearable. The only slight downside is that it can feel a bit dark in the cafe --but that can be fixed by sitting closer to the window. All in all, it is the cafe I recommend to people and have started taking friends to it, too! The guy I'm seeing will definitely also start coming here too with me to...